Hero Honda net down, launches two new bikes

NEW DELHI: Country's largest motorcycle maker Hero Honda Motors on Tuesday reported a 20.14 per cent decline in net profit in the first quarter ended June 30 as a result of drop in sales.

The company said its net profit stood at Rs 189.84 crore for the first quarter as against Rs 237.74 crore for the same period last year.

Total income (net of excise), however, increased marginally by 2.90 per cent to Rs 2,486.90 crore for the June quarter, compared to Rs 2,416.65 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

"The first quarter of this financial year has not been encouraging for the auto industry in general, with uncertainty over interest rates making customers postpone their purchases," Hero Honda Motor Ltd (HHML) Chairman Brijmohan Lall Munjal said.

He said the company did not foresee much of a change in the scenario for at least the next two months.

The company's EBIDTA margin during the quarter stood at to 10.76 per cent.

During the quarter the company clocked a total sales of 8,02,853 units of two wheelers and launched two new products - Splendor NXG and a refreshed model of its scooter Pleasure.

The company today announced the launch of two new variants - Passion Plus (100 cc) and Super Splendor (125 cc). Passion Plus is priced at Rs 42,750 (ex-showroom Delhi) while Super Splendor comes for Rs 44,150 for drum brake and Rs 44,900 for disc brake (ex-showroom Delhi).